Australian Football

Match Report

We begin the wrap this week with the first of two Saturday afternoon games, it's off to the Prospect Oval for the SANFL's "Civil War" between north and south, the Roosters against the Panthers. Last season's home and away games saw the spoils shared, interestingly it was the visiting side that would take the points. In Round 2 at Menzies Crescent, the Panthers won by 11 points on the back of a seven-goal third term, but then at Noarlunga in Round 17 the Roosters gave South a 58-point bath. The story of 2021 between these two didn't end there though, the Panthers repaying that last favour by bouncing the Roosters out of the finals with a 43-point Elimination Final victory. Coming into this match, North recovered from a slow start first term to down the Dogs at home, while the Panthers were pipped at the post by a single kick at Noarlunga by the Blues. 

South were going to have a difficult start to this game, held to three behinds in the opening term. North weren't getting to far ahead though, scoring just 2.1 to lead by 10 points at quarter-time. The Panthers would still not find the big sticks in the second term as the Roosters turned up the heat a little. North would kick 4.3 to a lowly two behinds as they went into the rooms with a 35-point lead at the half-time break. South would finally get into gear when play resumed, they found the sticks and kept the Roosters to just a single major in the third quarter as they managed to score 4.3 and bring themselves back to within three straight kicks. At three quarter-time, the Roosters held a 14-point lead. The visitors kept on coming in the final quarter, but many shots from both sides were coming up short with a raft of missed opportunities. The Roosters were forced into full defensive posture, a wall which held up in the end as they held on for an 11-point win after scoring 1.7 to South's 2.4.

Playing just his ninth match for the Roosters, young gun Harrison Magor was named their best with 33 disposals and 11 marks, while the Panthers named Oliver Davis as their best with 32 disposals, 11 marks and five clearances.